Learning Target Thread: Ecology Interdependence

Ecology is the study of the relationships between the biotic, organisms of different and the same species, and the abiotic, or non-living components of the
environment including the air, land, and water. Ecosystem is the name given to the natural unit in which these interactions occur as living things actively
compete to obtain energy, shelter, or even a mate.

NSDL Science Literacy Maps Interdependence
Preceding Grade Level
GLE 0507.2.1
Investigate different nutritional relationships among organisms in an ecosystem.
GLE 0507.2.2
Explain how organisms interact through symbiotic, commensal, and parasitic relationships.
This Grade Level
GLE 0607.2.1
Examine the roles of consumers, producers, and decomposers in a biological community.
GLE 0607.2.2
Describe how matter and energy are transferred through an ecosystem.
GLE 0607.2.3
Draw conclusions from data about interactions between the biotic and abiotic elements of a particular environment.
GLE 0607.2.4
Analyze the environments and the interdependence among organisms found in the worlds major biomes.



Unpacked Ideas of Interdependence:
1. Every environment contains non-living (abiotic) and living (biotic) components.
2. The number and kinds of organisms an environment can support depends on the available biotic resources and abiotic conditions, such
as the amount of rainfall, climate, and soil composition.
3. The survival needs of organisms and the conditions that exist in particular habitats must complement each other.
4. Depending on the needs of different organisms, some types of plants and animals thrive in a particular habitat, some do not do well, and
some cannot survive at all.
5. A biological community consists of the sum total of the different organisms that live there.
6. Different organisms have different roles in a biological community that cause them to be interdependent.
7. Most producers are plants that use sunlight, CO2 and water to make food.
8. First order consumers are animals that obtain food by eating plants to make materials needed for growth, maintenance, and repair.
9. Second order consumers and higher eat other animals.
10. Decomposers include bacteria and fungi that break down dead organisms or their products into food.
11. The food interactions among the biotic elements of a community can be illustrated through simple food chains, or more complex food
webs.
12. There is less food energy able to be transmitted among organisms at higher levels of the food chain.
13. Interactions among living things can be neutral (commensalism), detrimental (predator/prey, or parasite/host), or mutually beneficial
(symbiosis).
14. Biomes are large biological communities characterized by the predominant vegetation and by organisms that have become adapted to
these particular environments.
15. Different biomes exist around the world.

Academic Vocabulary for Interdependence:

1. Abiotic - Nonliving parts of the environment
2. Biotic - Living parts of the environment
3. Biosphere All the ecosystems from the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans
4. Biome- areas with similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are
often referred to as ecosystems
5. Consumers Organisms that have to eat either a producer or another consumer or both to obtain the energy needed
to survive
6. Decomposer Organisms that break down dead plants or animals
7. Ecosystem All the biotic and abiotic organisms and parts of a given area.
8. Producers Organisms that make their own food (using photosynthesis)
9. Scavengers Organisms that eat the remains of dead plants & animals


Questions for Instructional Focus:

1. What is the distinction among the biotic an abiotic elements of the environment?
2. Why do some organisms thrive in certain environments while others do not?
3. What are the essential differences among producers, consumers, and decomposers?
4. What are the basic principles that explain how food chains and webs work?
5. What are some examples of beneficial and detrimental interactions among living things?
6. What are the characteristics of the major biomes?
7.


TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Grade 6 | Science Instructional Pacing Guide
GLE Code Strand Description
1st Qtr
2nd
Qtr
3rd
Qtr
4th
Qtr
GLE 0607.2.1 Interactions Examine the roles of consumers, producers, and decomposers in a biological community.
YES
GLE 0607.2.2 Interactions Describe how matter and energy are transferred through an ecosystem.
YES
GLE 0607.2.3 Interactions
Draw conclusions from data about interactions between the biotic and abiotic elements of a particular
environment.
YES
GLE 0607.2.4 Interactions
Analyze the environments and the interdependence among organisms found in the worlds major
biomes.
YES
GLE 0607.6.3 Earth In Space
Explain how the positional relationships among the earth, moon, and sun control the length of the day,
lunar cycle, and year.
YES
GLE 0607.6.4 Earth In Space Describe the different stages in the lunar cycle.
YES
GLE 0607.6.5 Earth In Space Produce a model to demonstrate how the moon produces tides.
YES
GLE 0607.6.6 Earth In Space Illustrate the relationship between the seasons and the earth-sun system.
YES
GLE 0607.6.7 Earth In Space Describe the causes of lunar and solar eclipses.
YES
GLE 0607.6.1 Outer Space Analyze information about the major components of the universe.
YES
GLE 0607.6.2 Outer Space Describe the relative distance of objects in the solar system from earth.
YES
GLE 0607.8.1
Weather &
Climate Design and conduct an investigation to determine how the sun drives atmospheric convection.
YES
GLE 0607.8.2
Weather &
Climate Describe how the suns energy produces the wind.
YES
GLE 0607.8.3
Weather and
Climate Investigate the relationship between currents and oceanic temperature differences.
YES
GLE 0607.8.4
Weather and
Climate Analyze meteorological data to predict weather conditions.
YES
GLE
0607.10.1
Energy
Transformation Compare and contrast the three forms of potential energy.
YES
GLE
0607.10.2
Energy
Transformation Analyze various types of energy transformations.
YES
GLE
0607.10.3
Energy
Transformation Explain the principles underlying the Law of Conservation of Energy.
YES
GLE
0607.12.1 Electricity Describe how simple circuits are associated with the transfer of electrical energy.
YES
GLE
0607.12.2 Electricity Explain how simple electrical circuits can be used to determine which materials conduct electricity.
YES